The present invention is a portable chair with wheels that is lightweight in construction and easily collapsed, carried, stored and transported by public or private means. The chair can be configured as an assistive mobility device to meet the needs of aging healthy adults or as a collapsible office chair. Moreover, the present invention is economical to manufacture due to its simplicity of materials, uncomplicated design and duplication of parts.
Wheelchairs are a type of assistive mobility device. Traditionally, wheelchairs have been designed to facilitate patient transport for the medically infirmed. In meeting the needs of medical patients, the wheelchair has evolved into a classic styling that is easily recognized and most often associated with medically disabled or invalid patients. This easy recognition has created a stigma for those who use a wheelchair. Because of this stigma, many aging adults that would benefit from using a wheelchair limit their activities and social interactions rather than being branded as an invalid. The basic concept of the invention is to provide mobility in a way that does not stereotype the user as being disabled or invalid.
Americans are living longer with life expectancy increasing annually (76.5 years for 1997 versus 76.1 years for 1996) according to the federal center for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, Americans 65 years and older represent the segment of U.S. population that is the fastest growing according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The impact this older adult segment will have on our healthcare system is inevitable in the future. So is the need and desire to extend the independence of older Americans.
Significant research has been conducted on older persons on the impact of reduced activities and social interactions on their wellness. These include studies by individual researchers and large scale studies such as the National Survey of Self Care and Aging, National Health Interview Survey, National Long-term Care Survey, and the Canadian Health and Activity Limitation Survey. The results of these studies provide conclusive proof that wellness and the quality of life of healthy older Americans is improved by extending their independence and social interactions.
Portable wheelchairs, a type of assistive mobility device, capable of folding or collapsing have been in use for many years to accommodate wheelchair users who travel and need to take their wheelchairs with them. Typically, the wheelchairs that are designed to fold or collapse incorporate a pair of diagonally extending cross members secured between a right and left frame member which may be scissored together to collapse the wheelchair. Standard cross member frame construction for portable wheelchairs is bulky and heavy, making transport or storage difficult at best. Consequently, portable wheelchairs are not designed for storage in standard carry-on luggage compartments such as on airlines, trains and other mass transit mediums. Other folding wheelchair designs such as those which fold around a center pole or those which fold with the backrest collapsing forward have the same problems.
Additionally, portable wheelchairs, although light versus a standard wheelchair, are heavy and awkward for older persons to lift and load into automotive vehicles such as cars, vans and taxis.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,688 to Swearingen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,627 to Zatulovsky et al, U.S. Pat No. 4,861,056 to Duffey, Jr. et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,438 to Barclay are examples of prior art that incorporate various cross member support structures for a portable wheelchair.
The X crossed support arm frame structure of the invention is prior art and well known in the seating industry. The frame structure has been used for many years by the manufacturers of chairs for sporting events, camping, and fishing. Currently marketed examples of the frame structure include the folding Deluxe Quad Chair sold by Kmart Stores under the Northwest Territory brand name (bar code 72000752175xe2x80x94stock number 888072-113) and the Sir Edmund Hillary Folding Lounge Chair with footrest sold by Sears Roebuck and Company (bar code 27001728299xe2x80x94stock number 72829).
Therefore, there is a need in the art that appreciates the need of older adults who are not necessarily invalids to have an assistive mobility device that provides the means for easy participation in activities and social interactions without the wheelchair stigma. This specification describes an invention that will provide a mobility means that has the potential to extend the independence, quality of life and social interactions of the millions of aging Americans. Additionally, the present invention provides a solution to the needs for a lightweight, easily collapsible, portable, and storable assistive mobility device.
The invention also fills the unmet needs of another population of people, temporary office workers. Many employers today hire office workers for short periods of time. As the employers"" space is often limited and the need for seating is temporary, the employer may use folding tables and chairs as a means of providing the temporary workers with a work space. Use of folding chairs avoids the investment in office chairs, which will be a storage problem when they are no longer required. Folding chairs do, however, have significant disadvantages to the employer and the temporary workers. Folding chairs are uncomfortable to sit on for extended periods of time and lack the mobility for which rolling office chairs were invented. Therefore, there is a need in the art for which the present invention provides a solution while maintaining the easy storage associated with folding chairs.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to present a compact, collapsible, assistive mobility device that provides the means for aging adults to participate in activities and social interactions without the wheelchair stigma. The invention accomplishes this by creating a new design appearance for an assistive mobility device. The design incorporates prior art from the frame of a chair originally designed as a camping backpacking or sports chair with the addition of caster wheels thus eliminating the large drive wheels and bulky frame normally associated with wheelchairs. Moreover, the preferred embodiment of the invention replaces the two traditional push handles with a collapsible push-bar which further strengthens the frame and alters the assistive mobility device""s appearance. In addition, the typical wheelchair""s two-piece fabric back and seat are replaced by a single piece of fabric in the preferred embodiment of the invention. This further alters the appearance of the assistive mobility device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new frame construction design. Whereas, most assistive mobility devices to date have collapsed by bringing the two opposing sides together, and a few have folded front to back or around a center pole. None have had a four-sided frame that simultaneously collapsed inwardly in both the front to back and side to side directions. This creates a significant advantage in the compact size that results when the assistive mobility device is collapsed.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide a compact collapsible assistive mobility device that has a significant number of parts which are identical for economical construction. In the preferred embodiment of the invention at least six of the seat support arms, four upper corner brackets, two front caster wheels and associated corner brackets, two back caster wheels and associated corner brackets and two back rest supports are interchangeable.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide an adjustable footrest which is also collapsible.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide an adjustable backrest.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the assistive mobility device has four removable casters wheels with the back caster wheels fixed to roll in the direction which the assistive mobility device faces and the front caster wheels free to rotate 360xc2x0 for improved maneuverability. Moreover, the front caster wheels also have a brake to lock the assistive mobility device in a fixed location during the mounting and dismounting of the device.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide a flexible carrying case for the assistive mobility device. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the case has pockets for storage of the removable caster wheels and a shoulder strap for easy manual transport.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide a collapsed assistive mobility device which will fit easily into the luggage compartment or storage areas of mass transit vehicles and the back seat or trunk of most automobiles.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide a mobile, comfortable and collapsible office chair.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the foregoing detailed description, wherein reference is made to figures and the accompanying drawings.